India’s drone policy out; to be effective from December

As per the new Indian drone policy, which comes into implementation from December 1, 2018, drones can be used for commercial purposes but within the line of sight of its operator.

“The Drone Regulations 1.0 will enable the safe, commercial usage of drones starting December 1. The regulations are intended to enable visual line-of-sight, daytime only and a maximum of 400 feet altitude operations,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha said.

Taking weight into account, drones will be categorised into five categories – nano, micro, small, medium and large. Nano drones will be those which weigh less than 250 grams, while large will weigh over 150 kg.

Operators of all but nano category of drones will have to register as pilots on the new ‘Digital Sky Platform’, which is created exclusively for this purpose. A person must be at least 18 years of age and class 10 graduate (with English knowledge) to be eligible for drone flying.

The policy also identifies certain areas around airports, international borders, state Secretariat complexes in state capitals, military installations, etc. as ‘no-drone zones’.